Trump Support Slides, but Vote ‘Rigging’ Rhetoric Takes Hold

Donald Trump’s support has again reached its lowest point since Labor Day, with the GOP nominee losing a total of three percentage points since a leaked video prompted nine women to allege that Trump assaulted them.

A POLITICO/Morning Consult poll taken Oct. 13-15 found Trump had 36 percent support, while Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton remained at 42 percent in a four-way race including Libertarian Gary Johnson and Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Trump had worked his way back up to 39 percent immediately after the vice presidential debate, but has since lost any gains he made since the tape was leaked on Oct. 7.

Trump was at 36 percent once before on October 2, following his widely-criticized performance at the first presidential debate and a New York Times report that found he possibly had not paid income taxes for decades.

Clinton, in contrast, has hovered around 42 percent support since the first debate.

Since the tape leaked, Trump has upped his rhetoric questioning the outcome of the election. On Sunday, Trump tweeted about the presidential race being rigged by the media and “at many polling places.”

Eighty percent of Americans say they are confident their vote will be accurately counted in the election. But independent voters are markedly less certain their votes will count, with just 68 percent saying they are confident their vote will be registered on election day. Democrats are 91 percent confident, Republicans are 80 percent confident.

Americans are less certain that others votes will count, and Trump supporters are even more dubious. Sixty-eight percent say other people’s votes will count. Just 50 percent of Trump voters are confident that others’ votes will be registered, compared to 85 percent of Clinton supporters.

The POLITICO/Morning Consult poll was conducted from Oct. 13-15, among a national sample of 1,737 likely voters. The margin of error is plus or minus two percentage points. You can see more details on the trend questions and topical questions at the links.